| dc.description.abstract | This study generated baseline information on Lake Victoria Basin Ecosystem (LVBE) to facilitate the promotion of its nomination for designation by United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a multi-state Transboundary Biosphere Reserve (TBR). Based upon the review of relevant literature, observations from field visits in Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania, consultations with key stakeholders in the lake basin through interviews, focus group discussions, and administration of questionnaires, the information collected, analyzed, assessed, and evaluated were on the status of biodiversity, land and land resources, water and water resources, the weather, governance, socio-economic development, and human settlements. Demographically, the human population is about 45 million as of 2018 (LVBC 2018). The productive socio-economic sectors identified and evaluated were land, water, agriculture, livestock, fisheries, forests, wetlands, mining, energy, industry, wildlife, and tourism with a focus on the current status, benefits, threats, gaps, and proposed interventions within the scope of Lake Victoria Basin Ecosystem as a Biosphere Reserve. Biosphere Reserves help to ensure the environmental, economic, and social sustainability of a region by encouraging wise use of natural and human resources (UNESCO 1996).
Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) has an important uniting ecosystem that stretches across the five East African Community (EAC) countries, and these riparian member states have already designated the basin as "an economic growth zone" that must be developed in a sustainable way (EAC 1993). Joint nomination of the LVBE as a "multi-state" TBR for UNESCO's recognition and designation would not only strengthen the long-term cooperative efforts among the member states but also raise awareness among the citizens in the basin and government authorities on sustainable environmental and developmental issues. In addition, the designated basin can help to attract additional funding from different sources and serve as pilot site or 'learning laboratory' to explore and demonstrate approaches to conservation and sustainable development, and provide lessons which can be applied elsewhere. The basin would also be a concrete means for the riparian states to implement Agenda 2030, the Convention on Biological Diversity (Ecosystem Approach), many Sustainable Development Goals and Targets, and the Education for Sustainable Development. The intervention falls within UNESCO's Strategy for Priority Africa that support the AU Agenda 2063 and its Ten-Year Implementation Plan (2013-2023), and the EAC Environment Agenda.
Besides Lake Victoria, the basin has about fifty (50) satellite lakes, at least fifteen (15) major rivers that flow into Lake Victoria, and 13,000 wetlands varying in sizes located along the main lake shores and satellite lakes although there are some wetlands located in flood plains. The catchment area of 194,200 km² includes the Kagera River basin and the land cover in the basin exhibits both highly spatial and temporal variation depending on lithology, geology, topography, corresponding soil moisture and season of the year as well as human activities. The prevailing climate is equatorial with mean rainfall of 1,200 to 1,600 mm. Temperature varies from 23-27°C with a mean of 25°C throughout the year. The lakes and rivers are sources of water and fish and they are habitats for a diversity of aquatic organisms. The fishery supports the livelihood of over 3.5 million people and generates income. Wetlands support a high diversity of plants, animals, and soil types and are used for crop production, livestock husbandry and sewage treatment. They also serve as water reservoirs and assist in maintaining water regimes, climate patterns, and soil conservation, besides buffering inputs from the basin into lakes and rivers as they strip silt, nutrient, pollutants, and toxins. Biologically, wetlands provide nesting, breeding, and nursery habitats for birds, fish, and wild animals. The land catchments have rich and fertile soils and they support terrestrial biodiversity and agricultural production, in addition to human settlements, industries, and social infrastructures. Mining and tourism are important socio-economic assets. The main sources of energy are wood fuel, electricity, and oil.
The major threats to the ecosystems of the lakes include (i) declining water levels due to reduced rainfall and increased evaporation, (ii) decline in fish species diversity due to over-exploitation of
the fish stocks, (iii) introduction of exotic fish species especially the Nile perch, (iv) pollution and eutrophication due to nutrients enrichment especially of phosphorus and nitrogen, and (v) climate change. Similarly, the major threats to river ecosystems are (i) catchment degradation, (ii) wastewater discharges, (iii) impoundments, (iv) over-exploitation, and (v) drought as well as floods.
As the biggest threat to terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity in the Lake Victoria Basin is the increasing human population and demands it puts on the natural resources, special management system is needed in the proposed Lake Victoria Basin Ecosystem Biosphere Reserve that should include the various stakeholders and should be linked to the Lake Victoria Basin Commission. Infrastructure and human resources capacity of institutions to manage databases and policies on data ownership and sharing need to be improved.
In conclusion, the findings show that LVBE qualifies for nomination for designation as a Transboundary Biosphere Reserve because it meets the official UNESCO criteria in accordance with Article 4 of the Statutory Framework of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves (UNESCO, 1996). | en_US |
